Road to East
Asia

A journal on contemporary East Asian literature in
English

Remodeling a cruel city

Fratricide is a recurring theme in post-war Korean fiction since the
country was partitioned along the 38th Parallel in 1948. While the bird seller
in "The Cruel City" frustrates his countrymen's dream for freedom, the two
friends in "Cranes" are pitted against each other by their governments. Both
stories suggest the uncertainties with which Korea has to struggle as the
divided country tries to rebuild itself and works toward reunification.

Ben Bacola: Although the storekeeper in the bird shop seems cruel
and very deceiving, I hesitate to condemn him without reservation. To the
public, he seems to be a good man. After all he is the one who wants to see
the birds released in front of him to ensure that they are set free. He provides
the customers with such meaningful experiences. In a sense they are freeing
themselves as they free the birds. But the storekeeper has clipped off parts of
the birds' wings so that they cannot fly far away. After dark, he catches them
again in a nearby forest.

Before we criticize the man for his evil intention, we should look at the
situation from other perspectives. Perhaps he really wants people to
experience a feeling of freedom as they release the birds. He may have viewed
his job as a noble calling. When the old man does not have enough money to
pay for a bird's release, the storekeeper still gives him one to free.

Julie Shim: The story is highly symbolic of the Korean people's plight
because one can say they are the birds that are recaptured over and over again.
It is sad to realize that the seller, a Korean himself, is also among those who
prey on his people. The old man, of a generation long past, resembles the
birds in the cages. He has become so accustomed to being a prisoner that he
feels the need of direction. He waits for his son to care for him. He continues
to cling to the prison that has dominated his life for so long. In the end he
does leave, but unfortunately his path and his future are uncertain. The same
can be said of the Korean people.

Ben Bacola: The storekeeper lives in "The Cruel City." Perhaps the
people he has looked up to in his whole life have valued money above fellow
citizens. Perhaps he is never taught to care. Would this man turn out
differently if he lived in "The Kind City"?

Hilaneh Mahmoudi: I agree with Ben that the old man releases the
birds in order to experience the joys of freedom. But it is only an illusion of
freedom. The story itself depicts the Korean people and their dream of
independence, which has not been fully realized even after the Second World
War. As long as there are ruthless individuals who prey on their victims,
Korea or the world as a whole is a cruel city.

Candy Wong: Human beings' propensity to cruelty, as demonstrated
in the Korean short stories, saddens me. Tokchae and Songsam in "Cranes"
were childhood friends, but divided by the 38th parallel. They have become
foes. The cranes symbolize freedom, for they soar into the sky to escape
imprisonment and death.

Megan Donnelly: The recurring tragedies of Korean fratricide are
evident in both stories "The Cruel City" and "Cranes." In "Cruel City," an
egocentric shopkeeper takes advantage of his community by selling them
birds with clipped wings. He feeds off of their common dreams of freedom
and independence for his own profit rather than identifying himself with his
people. He is in this sense a "man against himself" in the same way that
Korea has in the past been a country against itself.

In 1948 Korea was partitioned along the 38th Parallel. The story "Cranes" is a
microcosm of Korean fratricide especially during the Korean War (1950-53). In
this story a man must choose between his new found loyalties to democracy
and his childhood friend who in a sense represents his own past and culture.
Ultimately, his loyalties rest in his friend which suggest Koreans' need to
remember their own cultures and families when they seek a post-war
identity.

Neena Gill: The two men in the short story, "Cranes," belong to
opposing sides of Korea--Songsam from the south and Tokchea from the
north. Both have a very similar background, but the 38th parallel divides
them. The ideological clash between the two sides has resulted in fratricide. It
is not man against man in Korea. It is brother against brother. After all, they
belong to one country, one nation. The cranes from the 38th parallel remind
Songram and Tokchae of their old friendship. As a pair of Tanjong cranes
soar together into the sky, the reader realizes that only unity could bring
harmony and peace to Korea.

Brenda Lo: In Chinese literature, cranes symbolize peace and
freedom. The heart-warming ending of the short story "Cranes" instils a
sense of hope in me. Their flight into the sky shows that the future of Korea
will be filled with opportunities.

Jessica Martin: The cranes provide an important image in this story
about hope for a united Korea. The childhood memory that Songsam has
when he and Tokchae free the crane is acting as a metaphor. As kids, they
worked together to free the crane from the government official. Together,
they worked toward a common goal and won a victory over their conflict
with authority. They were protecting their crane from becoming a
"specimen." Then, as adults, they find themselves pitted against each other,
almost like specimens themselves in that they are being used and abused by
the authority figures who control them. I think Songsam realizes that he is
guiding the hunter toward its prey by bringing Tokchae south of the border to
be killed.

The cranes, which rest on the 38th Parallel are a symbol of peace. The two
boys, as adults, manage to find peace between themselves even as the nation
is engaged in fratricide. The author implies that this peace between North and
South can also occur on a large scale. As the cranes soar high "into the clear
blue autumn sky," there is a picture of unity and hope for peace in the
future.

Derrick Coy: "Cranes," by Hwang Sunwon, is a touching story of
friendship, which is rekindled by the two characters' reflection on their
childhood. Once Songsam and Tokchae freed a crane they had captured as a
toy, and it flew away with another crane that a man from Seoul tried to shoot.
Their flight to freedom inspires Songsam to give the same chance to himself
and his friend.